Due to the massive criticisms
that greeted the Nigerian Minister of Labour and Employment’s directive to
Banks to halt the sacking of workers,
the Labour Minister, Dr. Chris Ngige ,weekend said he clearly and
constitutionally knows his rights, insisting that the directive to the banks
was in order.
The minister has continued
to face criticisms over his call on banks to reinstate their sacked workers or
face the wrath of the federal government.
The National Employers
Consultative Association (NECA) had accused Ngige of ‘partisanship, populist
and unprofessionalism,’ alluding that his comments ordering the banks on what
to do with regards to retrenchment was not far from a display of autocratic
tendencies.
But in his appearance before
the Senate Committee on Banking and Finance in Abuja at the weekend, Ngige took
a swipe at his opponents, contending that his directive to the banks falls
within the purview of the constitution, adding that there was nothing wrong
with it.
The minister said: “I know
my rights as Minister of Labour and
Employment and I will exercise those rights for the benefits of Nigerians, high
and low. It is within my powers to declare a truce in any industrial crisis.
That was why I asked the banks, ‘don’t retrench further’ and the unions, ‘don’t
picket the banks’ so we can sit down to resolve the issues. The labour law on
redundancy says in article 20 that if you negotiate redundancy and a party is
dissatisfied, the minister has the right to intervene.
“The law makes provision for
the employer to disengage a worker if he cannot actually run his enterprise
efficiently and effectively with a big load of staff in which case, he will
declare redundancy but it states clearly the process for doing this.
“It says you must engage the
labour unions in that industry and if it gets out of hand, the local unions
will report to their national union. If they can’t resolve this, the parties,
unions or the banks will refer it to the Minister of Labour for conciliation.”
Ngige cited petitions from
the unions in the financial sector which border on unwholesome practices,
including what he called ‘mindless retrenchment’ as the immediate reason for
his intervention, directing all the parties; the bank employers and the unions
to maintain the status quo ante-bellum through a statement on June 5, 2016,
pending the resolution of the disputes.
“We intervened in the spirit
of collective bargaining. We got petitions from NUBIFE on casualisation,
contract staffing, poor remunerations which is not in conformity with equal
work, equal pay in our constitution, ill human conditions of service, rampant
termination without due compensation and resistant to unionisation contrary to
section 40 of the constitution.
“We investigated these and
found them true in some banks. We invited the concerned banks; they gave
excuses on why they won’t honour the invitation while they continued with
retrenchments,” Ngige told the Senate Committee He also dispelled the insinuations that
the federal government was obstructing and interfering in the running of
private businesses given the recent clamp and shut down of big businesses
across the country.
“We are not interfering in
their business. They are there to make money and protect their investments and
nobody is against this. But don’t forget that individual Nigerians are also
investors in these banks. So they are not the only investors.
“I have my own shares in
these banks and they pay me dividends, which I am pleased with. However, I will
not be party to drawing dividends on the blood of helpless Nigerians. The banks
can save some of these low cadre jobs by re-adjusting the heavy perks at its
top management cadre. We pleaded same with the major oil companies and it
worked.”
Speaking on unionisation in
the banks, Ngige observed that the only institution in the financial sector
where staff members are exempted from unionisation is the Central Bank and that
no other bank in the country had the right to prevent its staff from forming a
union.
He said all the steps he had
so far taken on the issue were in defence of the constitution and the labour
laws as well as to safeguard the interests of all parties while ensuring
peaceful industrial milieu for enhanced productivity in the sector. “Unionisation
according to the constitution and labour laws is the right of workers. There
are exemptions and the institutions that are exempted are clearly listed. Here,
it is only Central Bank that is exempted in the banking sector.
“And the law says again that
the Minister of Labour in his wisdom can grant a waiver to any institution. I
have not granted waver to any bank and I will not grant such,” Ngige
maintained.
“The constitution is the
supreme law of the land. The constitution is aware that we are in a society
where all of us will not be equal and that everybody must be protected – big
and small. That is why in sections 14, 15 and 16 and even 17, it protects the
employer, the economy and the workers.
“It is from these provisions
that the National Assembly enacted the labour laws to guide all of us on how to
deal with the issues of employment. So, all that my ministry has done is to
execute and protect these laws from infractions. I acted in good faith to
protect the interest of all.”
Chairman of the Senate Committee
on Banking and Finance, Rafiu Ibrahim on his part argued that the controversy
was more of misrepresentation other than the threat to the banks over the issue
of retrenchment
“I am happy with the
explanation of the minister on the issue of bank licenses that he did not
threaten that the federal government would withdraw their licenses; that it was
a case of misrepresentation. That gives a conducive atmosphere for all the
social partners to freely dialogue and peacefully resolve all issues,” Ibrahim stated.
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